Sleepless
by tragicromancewriter
Summary: A two-shot about when Chloe, Simon, and Derek were younger. I do not own Darkest Powers!
1. Chapter 1

**Sleepless**

Restless as always, Derek could't help but toss and turn in his bed as Simon snored across the room.

He wondered why, maybe it was because he was afraid? But the only thing he was afraid of was being separated from his pack-Simon and their dad, Kit-and he knew his dad would never let that happen.

Perhaps it was because he was a werewolf, yet when he was completely exhausted he slept soundly.

Pushing it aside, he closed his eyes and listened for nothing, trying to calm his restless mind and just sleep.

He could hear some animals outside, a few birds on the roof, the heat blowing through every vent in the house, and dad going through papers in his office that used to-when they were younger in every house they had lived-double as a playroom for Derek and Simon.

He wondered if dad would know, he knew so much.

Derek got up, deciding it couldn't hurt to ask. He padded softly across the house in his bare feet, shuffling on purpose so his dad would hear that he was up.

When he was outside the office-making as much noise as he could without waking Simon-he heard his dad stop going through the papers.

"Simon?" he heard his dad say quietly.

"It's me dad," Derek said, walking in.

For a second Kit thought about his sons-both by birth and foster. Though they were both around the same size right now, he knew Derek would shoot up as soon as he hit puberty-which would be sooner than he wanted to admit. His boys were both eleven, it wouldn't be long until they were young men instead of the sweet, dependent boys he knew.

They were both scrawny, and it was obvious they weren't blood related. But after everything, it didn't matter. Simon and Derek were as close as brothers-closer even. They were also best friends.

"Is something wrong?" Kit laid down his glasses he used only for reading late at night.

"I can't sleep," Derek said, shuffling awkwardly by the door.

"Come sit with me for a bit," Kit said nodding at the couch, Kit remembered when Derek was younger he would come too him when he couldn't sleep.

He remembered the first night Derek was with them, he had tucked the boys in for the night in Simon's room (how lucky it had been he had bought a trundle bed, not knowing if it would ever be used, but thinking of someone who could use it). He had gone back to his office for a while, and before heading off to his own bed, he had checked on the boys.

Simon had been snoring away, his blonde hair had been long then-Simon hadn't been able to sit still very long then- while Derek was sitting up in bed.

"What is it Derek?" he remembered asking, sitting on the bed by him.

Derek looked up at him with his wide child eyes. "I can't sweep."

"Why not?" he asked, thinking it was probably because he was in a strange house.

Derek shrugged. "I can't ewer sweep. I wused to."

"What happened?" he asked, wondering why on earth it would be like this.

Derek shrugged.

"Well tell me about the night you first couldn't sleep," Kit told him, maybe he would be able to puzzle this out.

Derek thought about it for a minute. "I went to bed, and I couldn't sweep."

Kit chuckled. "Anything else?"

Derek thought a bit more, then nodded. "I was thinking of a fwien I meet that day."

"A friend?" Kit was baffled, this was making no sense.

"Umm-hmm," Derek's eyes seemed to glow. "Dat was the onwy day we pwayed. She was nice to me, even though everyone else was so mean."

Kit thought. This still didn't make any sense.

"Was there anything else?"

Derek shook his head. "Nope."

"Well, why don't you sit in the hall and read?" Kit suggested, at a loss as to what to do. Simon never had this problem. "Until you get tired."

"Okay," Derek nodded eagerly, following Kit out into the hall.

Kit looked at his now eleven year old son, reading on the couch in his office.

"Dad?" Derek looked up. "Why do can't I ever sleep for long?"

Kit hesitated. He thought he knew now-but he still could be wrong.

"Dad?" Kit and Derek looked at the door to see Simon was now up to. "Derek? What's going on? We're not moving again are we?"

"Not right now Simon," Kit said, thinking he should tell Derek-and Simon might as well know too. "Derek was just asking me why he couldn't sleep."

"Oh," Simon seemed not to know what to do, go back to bed or listen to their dad's answer?

"You can come sit," Kit said standing up and pacing a bit.

Derek wondered why dad was taking so long to answer. Was it something bad?

"Derek, do you remember the first night you came here?" his dad finally asked.

Derek shook his head, he didn't remember-but he remembered most of that first day.

"Well," his dad didn't seem to know what to say. "Well, you couldn't sleep then either. You told me it was like that for a while, and that it started on a day you made a friend you apparently never saw again."

"That doesn't make sense," Simon voiced what Derek was thinking. He nodded in agreement.

His dad also nodded, "Yes, well, I did a bit of research and well…"

"Well?" Derek felt like he was about to break out in a sweat because of nerves.

"Well, here, Simon's always talking about girls right?" he tried explaining, but both Derek and Simon were confused. "Well, werewolves, they mate for life."

"So Derek can't like girls?" Simon tried to puzzle out.

"Not quite," Kit was amused by his son. "See, once werewolves meet their mates, they can't sleep unless their mates are next to them-like Simon could never sleep without his…Duffles."

Simon turned red as Derek and Kit smiled, thinking of that old pillow Simon had taken everywhere.

"So its because I met my mate?" Derek asked, thinking. "What does mate even mean?"

"And why can't Derek like girls?" Simon asked.

"Well, yes, I think you met you're mate. And it means you'll always love her-and you'll never love another girl. You'll always protect her, and once you meet her-again-you'll be able to sleep when you're holding her like a teddy bear," Kit was fairly sure he was blushing, the way his son was. Simon seemed almost unfazed. "And as for Simon's question, Derek won't ever like girls like you do. He can be friends with them, but the only girl he'll ever like like you like girls is his mate."

"And then they'll fall in love," Simon concluded.

"Well, yes," he said relieved they seemed to get it.

"And Simon," he said, feeling the next part needed to be said. "I know you'll like girls, and probably date a lot of them, but when Derek meets his mate you need to think of her as a sister from the minute you meet her. Okay?"

"Okay," Simon nodded eagerly.

"Good, " Kit was relieved. "Is there anything else Derek?"

"Do you know who she is?" he asked.

"No," Kit shook his head. "You didn't mention a name when you told me."

Derek nodded, accepting the fact that he wouldn't know who she was until he met her. "Will I know who she is when I see her?"

"I don't know," his dad admitted, before yawning. "Alright, off to bed."

Derek and Simon walked quietly back to their room as their dad headed off to his.

"I wonder what she's like," Simon said as he crawled between the sheets.

"Me too," Derek wondered what she would be like, and look like, and sound like, and smell like.

"She's the sister I've never had," Simon said decidedly. "She'll be pretty, and she'll be perfect for you."

Derek laughed, thinking over his dad's word's as Simon's snores filled the room again.


	2. Chapter 2

"Aunt Lauren?"

Lauren looked up at her ten year old niece-who had become more of a daughter in the past five years. Again, Lauren was thankful that her brother-in-law had allowed Chloe to come live with her when her mother (and Lauren's sister) had died.

"What is it sweat-heart?" Lauren asked as Chloe walked into the room.

Chloe twisted her babyfine hair in her hands. "I can't sleep."

"Why not?" Lauren asked, baffled. She knew there were cases where children couldn't sleep-but Chloe had never had that problem-well she had, once before. Back when Lauren's sister had still been alive.

Lauren had been staying the night when her brother-in-law had been away, when Chloe came screaming down the stairs.

"MOMMMYYY!" Chloe crashed into her mother, who managed to remain calm while Lauren was going crazy in her head. Was the child hurt? Was she seeing ghosts?

"What is it angel?" her mother had asked, Lauren was amazed by how she was handling the situation.

"There-the-l-l-lady f-f-from the b-b-basement," fat tears rolled down Chloe's cheeks.

Her sister brushed them aside.

"Why don't you stay up for a bit with Auntie Lauren and I? Hmmm?" she smiled at her daughter, and Lauren couldn't help smiling at the love she saw etched deeply on her sister's face. Though she felt a pang at the fact that she didn't have a child of her own with whom she could share that kind of love with.

"O-o-okay," Chloe moved from her mother's legs to sit between her and Lauren.

"Why don't you tell Auntie where you went today?"

Chloe beamed. "I w-w-went to m-my last a-a-poitmet."

"Thats wonderful!" Lauren smiled back at the little girl.

"Yes it is," her sister leaned into the couch, and Chloe snuggled into her mother.

"A-a-and I m-m-made a fr-r-ried," Chloe announced.

"Really," Lauren was surprised that her sister was surprised by this fact. "When did you make this friend?"

"W-w-when you w-w-were t-t-talking to the d-d-doctors," Chloe stuttered out. "He w-w-was r-r-really n-n-nice."

Lauren shared a look of panic with her sister.

"Angel, how old was he?" Lauren's sister asked her daughter.

"H-h-he's my a-a-age," Chloe announced proudly, holding up four fingers.

Lauren and her sister let out twin sighs of relief.

"What was his name Angel?" her sister asked. "If I call his parents, you can play again."

Chloe beamed at her mother. "H-his n-name is D-d-derek."

"WHAT?" Lauren tipped over her wine onto the hard wood.

"Why, Lauren what is it?" her sister looked at her in confusion. Lauren looked pointedly at Chloe, and her sister covered Chloe's ears. "Well?"

"Well?" Lauren spat. "There's only one kid in that building named Derek-none of the others have a kid with that name, and well," Lauren said hopelessly, "He's one of Cain's children-you know the pack. Their mother died giving birth to all four of them!"

"The wolves?" her sister asked.

"Yes," Lauren was distressed over the news-but her sister didn't seem at all bothered. "Why aren't you worried?"

"Well, the child's hardly old enough to have had his first change," she said reasonably as she uncovered her daughter's ears.

Lauren returned her attention to her now ten year old niece.

"Come sit for a bit," Lauren patted to sofa's arm, Lauren wished her sister were here with her un-dying patience. She would know precisely what to do.

Chloe sat down Indian style across from her aunt.

"Is there anything else?" Lauren asked, wondering if she should get the first aid kit, which was really more of a on-the-go doctor's bag.

"N-no," Chloe started playing with the gem on her necklace. "J-just that I keep thinking of s-someone. A-a boy with dark hair and green eyes."

Lauren froze. There was no way she could remember that Derek boy from so long ago unless...unless...

"Is that boy about four or five?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yes," Chloe nodded. "Wh-why? Wh-wh-what is it?"

"Nothing," Lauren wiped the emotions off of her face. There was no way Chloe was that mutt's mate. There was no way in hell.

She patted Chloe's knee, thinking that Chloe would soon hit puberty and then she wouldn't be the sweet little girl that she had always been. She would change, that much Lauren knew-though how much she could only guess at.

"Go try to sleep and keep the child off you're mind if you can," Lauren said reasonably-or at least Lauren thought so.

"Why can't I think about him?" Chloe couldn't help but ask.

"Goodnight," Lauren started turning off lights, and then went to her own bedroom before collapsing on her bed. There was no way in hell she would allow Chloe to be Derek's mate. No way.

Chloe followed her aunt down the hall, but turned into her own room, wondering why her aunt was being so weird about a boy. He was after all, probably a figment of Chloe's imagination.

She thought about the boy, and a detached part of her mind wondered if he was thinking about her as she fell asleep.

**End**


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